


Mark

by Tai_ke_ai



Series: The Soul [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, He doesn't even know who he's pining for, Matt Holt mentioned - Freeform, Nobody knows who their soulmate is, Pining Lance (Voltron), Sad Shiro (Voltron), Samuel Holt mentioned, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 19:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11766666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tai_ke_ai/pseuds/Tai_ke_ai
Summary: Shiro was sure his soulmate was an alien- How else would one explain the strange symbols on his wrist which resembled no human language on earth?Lance flirted with every single girl he met- What else was he supposed to do to make his soulmate say the words circling around his wrist?Keith had resigned himself to the fact that the universe had not seen it fit to give him a soulmate- Why else would he not have a soul mark?Hunk tried not to think too much about his soul mark because it was weird- Where soul marks supposed to glow in the dark?Katie had other more important things to worry about then her soul mark- But for crows sake why had it not shown up yet?!





	Mark

Takashi Shirogane, or Shiro as his friends called him, had a soul mark once- before _they_ took his arm. 

Like most soul marks it curled around the wrist of his dominant hand and was the colour of his soulmate’s eyes, windows to the soul. All soul marks were the colour of the eyes of ones soulmate… 

Not that Shiro had ever met anyone with eyes the colour of his mark. 

The mark was blue, blue as the crystal ocean waves only seen in the warm climate of the tropics where water was pure and clean. There was also a hint of pink caught between the deep clear blue. It always made him think of a sparkling tide pool with an exquisite sea shell resting below the surface. It was beautiful… yet completely bizarre. Who had pink tints in their irises?

The colour was not the only strange aspect of his soul mark. Instead of words circling around his wrist there were strange symbols. It was not unheard of for a person to have a mark they could not read. It usually meant that their soulmate’s first words to them would be in a different language. But Shiro’s markings were not those of another language. He had checked. He had had a linguist friend of his check. He had even gone far enough to look into the many ancient writings of civilizations now long past. The symbols on his hand were from no language on earth. Key word, on earth.

At first Shiro had no clue what to make of his mark with it non human language. Part of him wondered if the writing was not only not from this earth, but not from this galaxy… he kind of believed in aliens.

But belief in ufos and aliens in Area 51 were for conspiracy theorists or syfy fans, not up and coming exploration pilots of the respectable Garrison military base. Sure lots of people spoke in theory about such things as aliens, but no one was silly enough to believe it.

Except for Mr. Holt.

Before Shiro ever met the famed scientist, Samuel Holt, he admired the man. Dr. Holt wa a genius and highly respected for his work and contributions to both the field of science and the Galaxy Garrison itself. Not only was he one of the most brilliant minds in the Garrison as well as their top scientist, but Holt also held the record among his fellow scientists for most expeditions in space. 

Dr. Holt, however, did have one flaw. He was a strong believer in aliens. Everyone put up with the brilliant man’s silly infatuation, believing that ever genius had to have at least one quirk. 

When Shiro was informed that he had been assigned to be the pilot for the Kerberos mission, he was utterly surprised. Not just because of how important this mission was to the Galaxy Garrison, but because he was also told that Dr. Holt had asked for him specifically to be their pilot. 

Shiro had only met the man once, and that conversation had been very brief and formal. But now Shiro suddenly found himself being invited into the Holt’s very home to have dinner. Apparently Holt felt it was vital that he and his son (the other scientist assigned to this mission) get to personally know their pilot.

It was actually during that first dinner that the topic of aliens came up, though not as Shiro would have expected. Matt noticed Shiro’s soul mark peaking out from his sleeve and immediately asked for a closer look. The young man, who was somewhat of a linguist expert, confirmed what Shiro already knew- the writing on his wrist was of no language known to man.

But then something amazing happened. Matt revealed his own mark which was just as alien looking as Shiro’s.

Thus began the first of what would soon become many conversations about aliens Shiro had with the Holts. By the time Shiro, Samuel Holt, and Matt Holt got into their space ship a month later Shiro’s tentative hope that aliens were real had become a strong belief. It no longer became a question of ‘if’ aliens were real, but ‘when’ the first contact would be made. 

Turned out ‘when’ was a lot sooner than any of them had thought… and it certainly was not as exciting or wonderful as they thought it would be. 

Now, fighting every day just to survive against alien after alien surrounded by a cheering crowds of aliens, Shiro wished he had never met any alien. He found it fitting that the arm with his soulmate mark had been severed off. The idea of finding love among the stars was ludicrous to him now as he struggled every moment just to stay alive.

But sometimes, like right now, Shiro still saw in the back of his mind the beautiful blue symbols with a center of pink encircling his once whole arm. He remembered perfectly each curve and line of his mark and could see the colour shining brightly against the black backdrop of his blackening consciousness as he drifted away into fitful sleep. 

Whenever he saw those beautiful, soothing marks in his mind’s eye he would allow himself to briefly imagine that his soulmate was out there- waiting for him, calling to him, needing him to come and find them among the billions of brightly shining stars. 

Not many people may know this about Shiro, but he was a bit of a romantic- even in these darkest of times.

||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||

Lance McClain was known for being romantic… or more accurately, a huge flirt. He did, despite how hard it might be to believe, have a good reason for all the flirting. 

Lance and his siblings had been born out of a bond of true love. His mother and father were connected to each other on a level that few people -even soulmates- experienced. They loved each other, truly and utterly.

But it seemed the universe could only allow so much good fortune to happen to one person and in the end they had to pay for their happiness. Lance’s father got cancer and died within a year. Lance was young and so he did not have that many memories of his father, but he sure remembered what it was like to watch someone lose their soulmate. His mother was devastated and for a time their family worried that she would die of heartbreak. Mom and dad had been very close, and his mom always said that losing Lance’s dad was like losing half of herself. 

And that pain never left her.

Despite her heartache, she pulled through for her children. She refused to be so selfish as to leave them behind no matter how hard staying was. She devoted herself to her children and family. Lance still felt a warmth in his chest thinking about how strong his mother was. There would always be those bad days where she could not get out of bed for grief, and yet she never regretted staying for her children just as she never regretted marrying his father. 

She said the pain was worth the memories.

Once one of Lance’s older siblings asked their mom that if she could redo her life would she have change anything? Would she not have married their father to keep herself from ever experiencing that pain? 

The answer was no. She would marry their father again in a heartbeat even knowing he would die in the end. She did have one regret, though. A regret which she told her children often. She should have married him sooner. They had both waited to wed- deciding to finish college and take things slow. They believed that they had a whole life time ahead of them to be together… except they did not.

Lance took his mother’s words and life experience to heart and from a very young age he became determined not to make the mistake his parents had. Life was short enough as it was without things like cancer, car crashes, and spiders messing things up (spiders are evil, okay!). Lance planned that the moment he found his soulmate he would marry them as quickly as possible… no better yet- he would actively search for his soulmate, find them, marry them (on the same day he finds them if possible), and then live the rest of his life happily with her for however long they both have (which hopefully will be a long time- but you never know). It was a perfect plan.

So when puberty hit at thirteen and he got his soul mark, Lance was ready to begin the search… only his mark was not what he expected. The colour was a normal -personally he thought it was quite beautiful- blue and the words english, but what the words actually said was surprising. 

When his mom saw it she had quirked her mouth in that way she does when she finds something amusing. His siblings had outright laughed at him. A few could not seem to stop.

“Guess you’re gonna have to flirt with every girl you meet, huh.” One sibling had said jokingly. 

They regretted ever suggesting such a thing because that is exactly what Lance did. And if his flirtatious mannerisms and over the top boldness embarrass his friends or family in the process- bonus points! 

||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||

Unlike Lance, Keith Kogane was not actively searching for his soulmate. This was not because Keith was an introvert and had lived the majority of his life in the middle of nowhere with little outside contact. Nor was it because right now he was grieving the recent (for him at least) death of his friend (older brother) who he was- (Stop it! He's gone, dammit and he's not coming back)- had been closer with than he ever had been with his father. The real reason Keith did not search for his soulmate was because he was convinced he did not have one. 

Keith had no soul mark.

Growing up, Keith had never really thought about soul marks. He did not even know such things as soulmates and soul marks existed. He always just thought that the harsh yellow scribbly thing on his fathers right wrist was a strange tattoo.

When his father finally told him about soul marks and soul mates were Keith wondered why his dad had never said anything about them before. Had his father not loved his soul mate? Was that why he never talked about them?

His father got upset when Keith asked that question. He said that he had loved his soulmate, but she was gone now and that was that. His father did not talk about it again and Keith decided not to ask anymore questions on the subject. 

When Keith turned nine, his father reminded him that his mark would be appearing within the next few years. Keith started thinking about soul marks again. But he still did not talk to his father about them.

When he turned twelve he finally decided to ask his father what having a soulmate really meant. To Keith’s surprise his father actually opened up about it and even went deep.

“They are the one person who will ever completely _get_ you. I did not believe what they said about soulmates, that one was made perfectly for the other. But when I met your mother, when I got to know her and she got to know me, I realised the it was true. It was as if everything I experienced in my life, everything that shaped me into who I have become, was so that I would be perfect for her… and everything she went through made her perfect for me.”

Keiths father never used the word perfect.

The boy wondered what it was like to have someone who was perfect for you. Keith and his dad did not always get along and often times his father did not understand what Keith was feeling… but his father was still the closest person to _getting_ him. What would it be like to have someone who completely got him?

It was three month after Keith’s thirteenth birthday that his father died and just like that Keith experienced what it really was like to be alone. No one understood him, no one got him. He was too quiet, too moody, too isolated. He was too different. 

Three more year’s passed and Keith began to realise that he was not going to get a soul mark. But by then Keith was hardened. Life was not perfect. It was tough with tough situations and tough choices. Being in the foster system showed Keith just how different he was from everyone else and it became abundantly clear to him that there would never be someone who understood him. There was no one who was perfect for him.

There was no such thing as perfect.

So when no mark showed by the time Keith turned seventeen, he had already figured that there was no soulmate for him. That was okay because Keith was more of a lone wolf than team player. He did not need anyone to rely on or make him feel complete and whole. He was fine.

He covered up his wrists. Always wore gauntlets. 

He was not ashamed. Everyone already knew he was weird- different. What was one more thing that made him separate from the rest? 

He hid it because it hurt. It hurt that he was apparently so different that there was no one who could ever get him. Shiro came close. Keith considered him his only closest friend. But never did Keith feel as if Shiro completely got him- just like his dad.

And then Shiro was gone- again, just like his father. And that was when Keith came to the conclusion that the universe was set on keeping him alone. This was his fate.

He was not angry about this. Sometimes he was frustrated, though. Sometimes he burned in his chest and caused him to clench the knife belonging to the mother he never met until his nails cut into his palms and his hands shook with the strain of constant tension. Sometimes he trained in combat for hours without stop in blazing desert sun until he was a breathe away from collapsing in the burning sand. Sometimes he wondered aimlessly for days in the red and orange canyons and rock outcroppings- even into the deep and cold caverns which riddled the area. 

But he was fine. He was not lonely. He was not sad. He was not angry.

He was okay.

||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||

Hunk Garrett was not okay. 

Well actually, he was okay. And his soul mark was doing good too. Kind of. He was not really sure. I mean, it was yellow. Was that okay? Could that actually happen? Could someone’s eyes really be yellow? Well of course it could happen. How else could his soul mark be yellow if someone somewhere did not have yellow eyes… right?

Sometimes he thought his mark glowed. But that was just his imagination because eyes do not glow… right?

Oh man. Hunk was not okay.

Ever since getting his soul mark Hunk always wore something to cover his wrists. That was not unusual, of course. Some people liked keeping their mark hidden for one reason or another. So no one thought he was weird for keeping his mark a covered.

Do not get him wrong, the mark was a very pleasing colour. Sometimes when he got really nervous -like right now- he would take off his gauntlet to look at his mark. The soft warm colour and gentle glow calmed his nerves. Maybe that was weird. Was that weird?

Probably. I mean, his family thought the colour was a little strange. It was also probably weird that his mark was not in english… or any language he knew for that matter. Not that he could recognise that many languages in their written- or verbal- form. He was not linguist. He was a mechanic. 

Of course, the option was out there that the writing on his arm was from some made up sibling language. You know, the language some twins make up that only they can understand. That seemed highly likely. Sort of. At least that is what his dad suggested. His dad had met twins once and they loved to annoy everyone by speaking in their special language. Although, neither Hunk nor his father had ever heard of twins making up written words to go along with their language. But it could happen. Right?

No matter the answer to that question, Hunk still hid his mark from the world. His friend Lance loved flashing his mark with its deep clear blue colouring so that everyone could see it. Lance sometimes tried to get Hunk to show him his mark. But, despite being really good friends with Lance (I mean, they were like best friends… at least that is how he felt), Hunk never felt comfortable enough to show his mark. Thankfully Lance respected his wish despite being disappointed. Lance was a good loyal friend.

Still, this strange language thing with his mark meant he had no idea what it said. What if his soulmate was cursing him or saying something just as mean spirited? That was stupid thought. His soulmate would never be someone who could be mean to someone they just met… Unless that person did something really hurtful to them- which, he would not do. Would he? What if he accidently did something wrong that caused the first words his soulmate said to him to be curses or derogatory name calling? It could happen. Unlikely, but it could happen.

Or it could not. In fact, nothing could happen. This whole thing might be a huge mess up where his soul mark was actually a typo and his soulmate did not have glowing yellow eyes or spoke in a different language that probably did not exist.

Okay, Hunk knew he needed to stop thinking about this. He was liable to stress himself out over what probably was nothing if he continued to think too heavily on this subject. Plus he really should be focusing on his university work at the Garrison.

He had a mark. It was yellow. His soulmate's eyes would be gentle and calming (judging by the colour). That was all he should let himself think about.

||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||//*\\\|//*\\\||

There was a lot Katie Holt let herself think about. There was a lot she needed to know. So busy was she with other more important things that she rarely thought about her soul mark… which she did not have yet.

But that was completely normal. She had only just turned fourteen and had two years left for the mark to make itself known. For males soul marks showed up between the ages of nine and sixteen, though the age which marks most commonly appeared was twelve to fourteen. Females got their marks earlier than males, usually gaining them from ten to twelve with the earliest being eight and latest fifteen. Whether a mark comes early, late, or in the middle also depends on hereditary genes. Usually if the parents marks appeared early on then so would their children's’ marks. 

Now if one parent had gotten their soul mark late and the other had gained their mark early then it all depended on who had the more dominant gene. If, on the other hand, both parents had their marks early but they had a child with a late mark then it was probably because that child had gotten their soul mark gene passed down to them from a grandparent or even great-grandparent who had received their mark late as well. Genes sometimes tended to skip a few generations.

With this knowledge Katie knew she had nothing to worry about… except that everyone in her family had their soul marks form early. Her brother, her parents, her parents parents, her parents parents parents, her parents parents parents parents, her parents parent parents parents parents, her-- 

When she said everyone, she meant it. Everyone had gotten their marks early on, even her distant cousins were not late bloomers.

Actually, if Katie thought about it there was one person in her family heritage that did not get their soul mark early. Her great aunt from her father’s side never actually got a soul mark. Not getting a soul mark is not exactly unheard of and either means that a person’s soulmate died before ever getting to say a single word to them, or that person did not actually have a soul mark.

Well her great aunt did end up having a soul mate and he certainly said a lot to her before he died of old age. Great Uncle Gib’s was known to have been quite the chatterbox. Everyone could not deny that Gibs had been her great aunt’s soulmate because while she might have been lacking a soul mark, Gibs had not. Her first words to him were enscrolled around his wrist from when he was ten.

But that had been a one time fluke. There was no way that _that_ mistake could be _genetic_. 

Still, Katie’s mark had yet to show despite her genes coming from a long line of early markers. Both her parents had gotten there’s at nine while her brother had gotten his right after his ninth birthday- although his had been a bit different from the norm what with being an alien language. 

When Katie turned eight she fully expected her mark to appear right after her birthday as well. But it did not appear that year. Nor did it appear the year after that, or the year after that, or all of the years leading up to the present where it still had not appeared despite her only having two years left for it to show up. Marks rarely showed up so late for females… marks never showed up that late for anyone in her family. 

Katie told herself that she really should not worry. A lot of things about her seemed to be a late bloomer (which turned out to be a blessing in disguise with what she is now planning to do in order to infiltrate the Garrison) so she really should not be so concerned about her soul mark, or lack thereof. 

Still, it bugged her now and again. Definitely not now, though. Now she was too busy. Now something like a missing soul mark seemed trivial compared to what was happening to her family. 

The Kerberos mission had failed. They said it was pilot error. They said that the ship never reached its destination. They said her father and brother were dead.

But they were lying. Katie had hacked into their database and even snuck into the Garrison headquarters. She saw the files. She read the reports and saw the last transmissions. There was _no_ pilot error. The spaceship _had_ landed successfully on the Kerberos moon.

If Galaxy Garrison had lied about those crucial details then there was a high percentage that they were lying about her brother and father’s deaths. They were not dead. They were just missing.

And she would find them.

But before she could read the last transmission of the ship or discover any more information about what happened to her father and brother, the quiznaking Commander Iverson stopped her. The commander promised that she would never be allowed back on Garrison territory.

She could kiss her dreams of becoming a space pilot goodbye.

Of course she tried twice more to get into Garrison to access the private files of Iverson which could not be accessed through the database, but she was thrown out both times. She would have tried again if they had not threatened her mother.

Katie had not cared when they tried to scare her with promises to send her to juvie if she continued. But the threat to sabotage her mother’s carrier was too much. Iverson had the type of connections that would make it easy for him to just pull a few strings and cause her mother’s life to become even more of a nightmare than it already was.

Now it looked like Katie would have to give up on finding the truth… but if you really believed that then you do not know Katie.

Besides she would find a way. She would _always_ find a way because she would _never _stop looking.__

____

Even if she had to become Pidge Gunderson to do it.

____

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! Thanks for taking an interest in this story. I hoped it was satisfactory.
> 
> I actually have no idea where this story came from nor how it formed. It just snuck up on me and took me captive. In all seriousness it practically wrote itself.  
> But I didn't mind. It was so much fun to create.
> 
> I'm considering making this story line a three part series- but a part of me likes how vague everything is along with the little hints here and there of who I've connected each character to (some more obvious than others).


End file.
